Manvantara - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Manvantara or Manuvantara , or age of a Manu

Manu (Hinduism)

In various Hindu traditions, Manu is a title accorded to the progenitor of mankind, and also the very first brahman king to rule this earth, who saved mankind from the universal flood. He was absolutely honest which was why he was initially known as "Satyavrata"...

, the Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

progenitor of mankind, is an astronomical period of time measurement. Manvantara is a Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

sandhi

Sandhi

Sandhi is a cover term for a wide variety of phonological processes that occur at morpheme or word boundaries . Examples include the fusion of sounds across word boundaries and the alteration of sounds due to neighboring sounds or due to the grammatical function of adjacent words...

, a combination of words manu and antara, manu-antara or manvantara, literally meaning the duration of a Manu, or his life span .

Each Manvantara is created and ruled by a specific Manu, who in turn is created by Brahma

Brahma

Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...

, the Creator himself. Manu creates the world, and all its species during that period of time, each Manvantara lasts the lifetime of a Manu, upon whose death, Brahma creates another Manu to continue the cycle of Creation or Shristi, Vishnu

Vishnu

Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

on his part takes a new Avatar

Avatar

In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....

, and also a new Indra

Indra

' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

and Saptarishis are appointed.

Eventually it takes 14 Manus and their respective Manvantaras to create a Kalpa

Kalpa

Kalpa is a small town in the Sutlej river valley, above Recong Peo in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh, Northern India, in the Indian Himalaya. Inhabited by Kinnauri people and famous for its apple orchards. Apples are a major cash-crop for the region...

, Aeon

Aeon

The word aeon, also spelled eon or æon , originally means "life", and/or "being", though it then tended to mean "age", "forever" or "for eternity". It is a Latin transliteration from the koine Greek word , from the archaic . In Homer it typically refers to life or lifespan...

, or a ‘Day of Brahma

Brahma

’, according to the Hindu Time Cycles and also the Vedic timeline. Thereafter, at the end of each Kalpa, there is a period - same as Kalpa - of dissolution or Pralaya

Pralaya

Pralaya, in Hindu cosmology, is an aeonic term which specifies different periods of time during which non activity situation persists, as per different formats or contexts...

, wherein the world (earth and all life forms, but not the entire universe itself) is destroyed and lies in a state of rest, which is called the, ‘Night of Brahma’.

After that the creator, Brahma

Brahma

starts his cycle of creation all over again, in an endless cycle of creation followed by Destruction for which Shiva

Shiva

Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

, Hindu God of destruction, and also renewal, is invoked towards the end of each such cycle .

Duration of a Manvantara

The actual duration of a Manavantara, according to the Vishnu Purana

Vishnu Purana

The Vishnu Purana is a religious Hindu text and one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. It is considered one of the most important Puranas and has been given the name Puranaratna...

is seventy one times the number of years contained in the four Yuga

Yuga

Yuga in Hindu philosophy is the name of an 'epoch' or 'era' within a cycle of four ages. These are the Satya Yuga, the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and finally the Kali Yuga. According to Hindu cosmology, life in the universe is created, destroyed once every 4.1 to 8.2 billion years, which is...

s, with some additional years, adding up to 852,000 divine years, or 306,720,000 human years Vishnu Purana

Vishnu Purana

The Vishnu Purana is a religious Hindu text and one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. It is considered one of the most important Puranas and has been given the name Puranaratna...

, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson

Horace Hayman Wilson

Horace Hayman Wilson was an English orientalist.He studied medicine at St Thomas's Hospital, and went out to India in 1808 as assistant-surgeon on the Bengal establishment of the British East India Company....

, 1840, Book I: Chapter III. p. 26-28. Hear the division of time which they measure, Seven Rishis, certain (secondary) divinities, Indra, Manu, and the kings his sons, are created and perish at one period 5; and the interval, called a Manwantara, is equal to seventy-one times the number of years contained in the four Yugas, with some additional years: this is the duration of the Manu, the (attendant) divinities, and the rest, which is equal to 852.000 divine years, or to 306.720.000 years of mortals, independent of the additional period. Fourteen times this period constitutes a Bráhma day, that is, a day of Brahmá; the term (Bráhma) being the derivative form. The Brahma life span is 100 Brahma varshas. The following table will illustrate clearly the link to our years and Brahma years.

Sub-divisions

1 human year (in Hindu calendar

Hindu calendar

The hindu calendar used in ancient times has undergone many changes in the process of regionalization, and today there are several regional Indian calendars, as well as an Indian national calendar. Nepali calendar, Bengali calendar, Malayalam calendar, Tamil calendar, Telugu calendar, Kannada...

) = 1 Deva Ahoratra for God (1 day and 1 night)

360 Deva Ahoratras = 1 Deva Vatsara

12,000 Deva Vatsara = 1 Chaturyuga

(12,000 Deva Vatsaras are defined as, 4800 Deva Vatsaras of Krita yuga, 3600 Deva Vatsaras of Treta Yuga

Treta Yuga

Treta Yuga is the second out of four yugas, or ages of mankind, in the religion of Hinduism, and follows the Satya Yuga of perfect morality and precedes the Dvapara Yuga. The most famous events in this yuga were Lord Vishnu's fifth, sixth and seventh incarnations as Vamana, Parashurama and...

, 2400 Deva Vatsaras of Dvapara Yuga

Dvapara Yuga

Dvapara Yuga or Dwapara Yuga is the third out of four yugas, or ages, described in the scriptures of Hinduism. This yuga comes after Treta Yuga and is followed by Kali Yuga...

and 1200 Deva Vatsaras of Kali Yuga

Kali Yuga

Kali Yuga is the last of the four stages that the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas described in the Indian scriptures. The other ages are Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga...

which is 12000 * 360 = 4,320,000 human years)

71 Chaturyugas = 1 Manvantaram (1 life span of Manu

Manu

-Geography:*Manú Province, a province of Peru, in the Madre de Dios Region*Manú National Park, Peru*Manú River, in southeastern Peru*Manu River, Tripura, which originates in India and flows into Bangladesh...

)

14 Manvantaras = 1 kalpa (1 day of Brahma

Brahma

)

2 Kalpas = 1 day + 1 Brahma Ahoratra

360 days of Brahma = 1 Brahma varsha

100 Brahma varsha = 1 life span of Brahma.

Comparison to the Age of the Universe from Modern Astronomy

Modern scientific astronomy estimates the Age of the Universe

Age of the universe

The age of the universe is the time elapsed since the Big Bang posited by the most widely accepted scientific model of cosmology. The best current estimate of the age of the universe is 13.75 ± 0.13 billion years within the Lambda-CDM concordance model...

as around 13 Billion years (13 * 10⁹ years). Conversion of 1 day of Brahma

Brahma

in to human years yields 8.58816 * 10⁹ years (derived as 2 kalpas * 14 Manvantaras * 71 Chaturyugas * 12,000 Deva vatsaras * 360 human years).

Manus of the Śveta Vārāha Kalpa

Manvantara №	Name of Manu for manvantara:	Manvantara-avatara name:
01	Svayambhuva Manu	Yajna Yajna In Hinduism, yajna is a ritual of sacrifice derived from the practice of Vedic times. It is performed to please the gods or to attain certain wishes...
02	Svarocisha Manu	Vibhu
03	Uttama Manu	Satyasena
04	Tamasa Manu	Hari Hari Hari is an Avatar, another name of and , and appears as the 650th name in the Vishnu sahasranama of Mahabharata. In Sanskrit "hari" sometimes refers to a colour, green, yellow, or fawn-coloured/khaki. It is the colour of the Sun and of Soma...
05	Raivata Manu	Vaikuntha
06	Cakshusha Manu	Ajita
07	*Vaivasvata Manu* (current)	Vamana Vamana Vamana is described in the Puranic texts of Hinduism as the Fifth Avatar of Vishnu, and the first incarnation of the Second Age, or the Treta yuga. Also he is the first Avatar of Vishnu which appears with a completely human form, though it was that of a dwarf brahmin. He is also sometimes known as...
08	Savarni Manu Savarni Manu Sarvabhauma comes as Savarni Manu, a son born to the sun-god Surya and wife named Chhaya. Savarni's sons are headed by Nirmoka, and among the demigods are the Sutapas. Bali, the son of Virochana, is Indra, and Galava and Parashurama are among the seven sages...	Sarvabhauma
09	Daksha-savarni Manu	Rishabha Rishabha Rishabha also spelled as Rsabha or Vrsabha may refer to:* Rishabha , the first Jain tirthankar* Rishabha , a sage mentioned in the Vaishnava texts, incarnation of Visnu, the son of King Nabhi and Merudevi; father of the great king - BharatIn Sanskrit, Rishabha may also mean:* The bull* The great one...
10	Brahma-savarni Manu	Vishvaksena
11	Dharma-savarni Manu	Dharmasetu Dharmasetu Dharmasetu was an 8th century maharaja of Srivijaya. Under his reign, he successfully incorporated Pan Pan, a kingdom located in the north of the Malay Peninsula into Srivijayan sphere of influence before 775 AD....
12	Rudra-savarni Manu	Sudhama
13	Deva-savarni Manu	Yogesvara
14	Indra-savarni Manu	Brihadbhanu

First Manvantara - the interval of Swayambhu Manu

Saptarshi

The Saptarishi are the seven rishis who are extolled at many places in the Vedas and Hindu literature. The Vedic Samhitas never actually enumerate these rishis by name, though later Vedic texts such as the Brahmanas and Upanisads do so. They are regarded in the Vedas as the patriarchs of the...

s (सप्तर्षि): Marichi

Marichi

Rishi Marichi or Mareechi or Marishi is the son of Brahma, the cosmic creator, and also one of the Saptarshi , in the First Manvantara, with others being Atri, Angiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya, and Vashishtha .Before the creation started, Lord Brahma needed a few people who can be held responsible...

, Atri

Atri

This article is about the sage named Attri. See also the gotra named Atri. For the Italian city, see Atri, AbruzzoIn Hinduism, Attri or Atri is a legendary bard and scholar and was one of 9 Prajapatis, and a son of Brahma, said to be ancestor of some Brahmin, Prajapatis, kshatriya and Vaishya...

, Angiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya

Pulastya

Pulatsya was one of the ten Prajapati or mind-born sons of Brahma, and one of the Saptarishis in the first Manvantara....

, and Vashishtha .
svayambhuve -- in the Svayambhuva-manvantara; yajna

Yajna

In Hinduism, yajna is a ritual of sacrifice derived from the practice of Vedic times. It is performed to please the gods or to attain certain wishes...

-- the avatara named Yajna

Yajna

In Hinduism, yajna is a ritual of sacrifice derived from the practice of Vedic times. It is performed to please the gods or to attain certain wishes...

: In the Svayambhuva-manvantara, the Avatar

Avatar

is named Yajna.

Second Manvantara - the interval of Swarochisha Manu

Urja, Stambha, Prańa, Dattoli, Rishabha, Nischara, and Arvarívat.
In the Svarocisha-manvantara, avatara is named Vibhu.

Third Manvantara - the interval of Auttami Manu

Sons of Vashishtha: Kaukundihi, Kurundi, Dalaya, Śankha, Praváhita, Mita, and Sammita.
In the Auttama-manvantara, He (avatara) is named Satyasena.

Fourth Manvantara - the interval of Tamasa Manu

Jyotirdhama, Prithu

Prithu

According to Hindu mythology, Prithu is a sovereign , named in the Vedic scriptures and considered an Avatar of the preserver god—Vishnu. He is also called Pruthu, Prithi and Prithu Vainya, literally, Prithu — the son of Vena...

, Kavya

Kavya

Kavya refers to the Sanskrit literary style used by Indian court poets flourishing from the first half of the seventh century AD. This literary style is characterised by abundant usage of figures of speech, metaphors, similes, and hyperbole to create its emotional effects...

, Chaitra

Chaitra

Chaitra is a month of the Hindu calendar....

, Agni

Agni

Agni is a Hindu deity, one of the most important of the Vedic gods. He is the god of fire and the acceptor of sacrifices. The sacrifices made to Agni go to the deities because Agni is a messenger from and to the other gods...

, Vanaka, and Pivara

Pivara

-Municipalities:The city of Kragujevac is divided into the following municipalities:*Aerodrom, Kragujevac*Pivara*Stanovo*Stari grad*Stragari- Inhabited places :The municipality of Pivara comprises a part of urban Kragujevac and 15 villages:...

.
In the Tamasa-manvantara, He (Vishnu) is named Hari

Hari

Hari is an Avatar, another name of and , and appears as the 650th name in the Vishnu sahasranama of Mahabharata. In Sanskrit "hari" sometimes refers to a colour, green, yellow, or fawn-coloured/khaki. It is the colour of the Sun and of Soma...

Fifth Manvantara - the interval of Raivata Manu

Hirannyaroma, Vedasrí, Urddhabahu, Vedabahu, Sudhaman, Parjanya

Parjanya

Parjanya, according to the 1965 Sanskrit–English dictionary by Shri Vaman Shivram Apte gives the following meanings:* Rain-cloud, thunder cloud, a cloud in general* Rain...

, and Mahámuni.
In the Raivata-manvantara, the avatara is named Vaikuntha.

Sixth Manvantara - the interval of Chakshusha Manu

Sumedhas, Virajas, Havishmat, Uttama, Madhu, Abhináman, and Sahishnnu.
In the Cakshusha-manvantara, avatara is named Ajita.

The present, seventh Manvantara - the interval of Vaivasvata Manu

Kashyapa, Atri

Atri

, Vashishtha, Vishvamitra, Gautama

Gautama Maharishi

Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis Gautama Maharishi is one of the Saptarishis (Seven Great Sages Rishi of the current Manvantara (seventh). He was one of the Maharishis of Vedic times, known to have been the discoverer of Mantras --...

, Jamadagni

Jamadagni

Jamadagni is one of the Saptarishis in the seventh, i.e. the present Manvantara. He was a descendant of the sage Bhrigu, one of the Prajapatis created by Brahma, the God of Creation...

, Bharadvaja . In the Vaivasvata-manvantara, He (Avatara) is named Vamana

Eighth (Future) - Savarni Manu

Diptimat, Galava, Rama

Rama

Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

, Kripa

Kripa

Not to be confused with "Kripa" , a female given name.Kripa , also known as Kripacharya or Krupacharya is an important character in the Mahābhārata, one of the seven Chiranjivin .He was the son of Shardwan and Janapadi, born in a particularly extraordinary manner Not to be confused with "Kripa" , a...

, Drauni, Vyasa

Vyasa

Vyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...

, and Rishyasringa

Rishyasringa

Rishyasringa or ' was a boy born with the horns of a deer in Hindu-Buddhist mythology, who became a seer and was seduced by a King's daughter, which had various results according to the variations in the story.-Hindu versions of the...

.
Text came from ....http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/vp076.htm Vishnu Purana

Vishnu Purana

The Vishnu Purana is a religious Hindu text and one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. It is considered one of the most important Puranas and has been given the name Puranaratna...

: Book III: Chapter II]
In the Savarnya-manvantara, He (avatara) is named Sarvabhauma.

Ninth - Daksa Savarni Manu

Savana, Dyutimat, Bhavya, Vasu, Medhatithi, Jyotishmán, and Satya.
In the Daksha-savarnya-manvantara, He (avatara) is named Rishabha.

Tenth - Brahma Savarni Manu

Havishmán, Sukriti, Satya, Apámmúrtti, Nábhága, Apratimaujas, and Satyaket.
In the Brahma-savarnya-manvantara, the avatara is named Vishvaksena

Eleventh - Dharma Savarni Manu

Niśchara, Agnitejas, Vapushmán, Vishńu, Áruni, Havishmán, and Anagha.
In the Dharma-savarnya, He (avatara) is named Dharmasetu.

Twelfth - Rudra Savarni Manu

Tapaswí, Sutapas, Tapomúrtti, Taporati, Tapodhriti, Tapodyuti, and Tapodhan.
In the Rudra-savarnya He (avatara) is named Sudhama.

Thirteenth - Raucya or Deva Savarni Manu

Nirmoha, Tatwadersín, Nishprakampa, Nirutsuka, Dhritimat, Avyaya, and Sutapas.
In the Deva-savarnya, He (avatara) is named Yogesvara.

Fourteenth - Indra Savarni Manu

Agnibáhu, Śuchi, Śukra, Magadhá, Gridhra, Yukta, and Ajita.
In the Indra-savarnya-manvantara, the avatara is named Brihadbhanu.